Wild But Innocent Stories: Ashe x Tryndamere
by Wiger
Summary: Ashe has recently been feeling cold again. Could it have to do with her marriage to the Barbarian King, Tryndamere? Not my work, just a repost of a long gone author.


This is not my work, but that of an author who used to be on this site, named Wild But Innocent. Her profile is still on here, but she deleted all of her stories and left Fanfiction for good. Luckily, I recorded some of her stories, and since I feel that they are too great to disappear, I'm posting them myself for everyone to enjoy.

With a swing Ashe opened the big windows. Why was she always so hot? She let the ice cold breeze flow through her hair. Content, she took a deep breath.

Ever since she'd gotten Avarosa's ice bow, she'd never been cold again - it was like she'd become one with the cold. It's funny how a weapon can change your entire life… Every night she would remember the icy feeling spreading through her veins as a personal gift from the former Queen Avarosa. She'd always been an example for Ashe, and that day when she had followed the mysterious bird that had led her to the ancient Freljord burial cairn, her life had changed forever. A chill went down her spine – not from the cold though – when she thought about the moment she saw her Queen's name on the huge top stone: "Avarosa".

The bow that the former Queen had blessed her with still left her breathless everyday. She'd wondered why she was worthy, why Avarosa had chosen her and not some other girl. But the moment when the ice arrows had formed from her fingers, she'd felt the power flow through her and she'd just known: this was meant for her.

She saw the familiar shape of a man headed towards the entrance of the castle. His sword was dragging after him, which was the way he liked to move with it. Just dragging the damn thing. Ashe chuckled and in her head she could hear his voice asking why she'd opened the windows. He couldn't believe she was never cold, he still asked every time if she really was that hot. Well, she actually wasn't hot. She'd just adapted to the cold.

They knew each other quite well; she knew his story, his battle scars, his hunger for revenge on the monster that had destroyed his people. They were able to talk quite easily... But even after four years of marriage Ashe had to admit that she was getting tired of the whole "political reasons" thing. Their tribes had been living in peace ever since they'd gotten married, which actually was the whole reason for their marriage.

"You hot again?"

"I knew you'd say that!" she laughed. She turned around from the window and saw her sweat covered husband walk towards her. He gave her a polite kiss on the cheek and she smiled.

"Am I that much of an open book?" he grunted. "I just don't want you to be cold."

"Since when do you care about that? Look at yourself, you run around in the Freljord everyday with a bare chest. I am just as strong as you."

"I know, my Queen. Now where is my dinner?"

Her mouth fell open. "Excuse..-"

"I don't mean that you should make it, we have maids for that, haven't we? Usually dinner is ready when I get home!"

"You're still such a barbarian," she sighed. "You'd think after four years of marriage that you'd have trained your patience!"

He mumbled something and walked towards the bathroom.

"What?" she yelled after him.

"I said I've trained my patience more than you're aware of, my Queen!" He slammed the door behind him.

"Okay…" she muttered. She wondered what he was referring to. She decided to close the windows, since Tryndamere would be done with his shower soon and was going to work on one of his woodcarvings next to the fireplace – she didn't want him to catch a cold. Her silvery white hair tickled her shoulders and for the first in a long time, she felt a shiver of cold. Strange...

When she walked into the kitchen, the smell of burned food filled her nostrils. The maids were running around in panic, until they saw their Queen in the door opening.

"We're so sorry Your Majesty, Karena fainted and because of that the potatoes got burned and…"

"It's okay," Ashe said gently. "It's just food. Is Karena alright?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. She needs to rest, and she'll be okay to come to work again tomorrow."

"Let her rest for a while longer if she needs to. I don't mind. Do you girls wish for anything more?"

They all looked surprised, because even though Ashe had always tried to be a friend to them, they were always still in awe of her, even after she'd walked into the kitchen hundreds of times during the past years.

"Well, actually…" One of the girls raised her voice shyly. "I am quite cold at night… All I would wish for is one extra blanket."

Ashe nodded. "Wait a second. I'll go get a few right away! I have a lot leftover in the closet, you girls could use those!" She ran back to one of the huge closets in the hallway and dragged out a bunch of fur blankets.

"There," she said and put the blankets on one of the chairs in the kitchen. "Is that enough for everyone?"

Some of the girls were still staring at her with their mouths open, but the girl who'd asked for the blanket jumped in the air. "That is amazing! Thank you so much Your Majesty!"

"Just call me Ashe. Or Queen Ashe, if it makes you feel better. Do you need anything else? Do you have enough food?"

"More than enough," the girl said and the other maids nodded in agreement.

"Okay then," Ashe said awkwardly. "Can dinner be done in about half an hour? At that time, King Tryndamere and I can discuss some strategies over dinner."

"Of course Your Maje… Queen Ashe."

"Thank you, Anita."

x x x

When she fell down on the couch, she realized she was actually pretty tired herself. All day she'd been on the Fields of Justice. Today she'd faced Ezreal twice, Quinn once and Vayne four times. She wondered why the summoners always went for her – probably because of the true damage. Oh well, she'd won five out of the seven battles, which was pretty good. Every time she was on the battlefield she remembered her duties as the Queen of the Freljord, but she couldn't deny that if it wasn't for that, she would've enjoyed it just as much…

Tryndamere had a day off, but he was in the League as well. People knew they were married, and some of the other heroes made jokes about it all the time. Vi especially couldn't shut up about it, and Blitzcrank apparently had made some kind of device that had matched her and Tryndamere as a perfect couple. But Ashe'd made sure that everytime someone made dirty jokes, she would tell them that their marriage was strictly political and nothing more. Which was true. Tryndamere and her had never even kissed in a romantic way, let alone do more than that.

She still remembered the way she saw him when they first met. The barbarian driven by rage, just wanting to kill. She was forced to fight him when their tribes were starting a war, but she'd never wanted to fight. It was like Avarosa had told her personally that there was a better way to solve this. A faint smile appeared on her face when she thought about the way she'd faced their tribe leader, Tryndamere. He'd seen her and run towards her, spinning his sword around him. She'd been quite impressed, but she never showed any weakness – a true leader never showed weaknesses. She'd told him to stop, that they needed to talk first, that there was a better way to solve this. Of course, the rage filled man hadn't planned on listening to her. He'd lifted his sword, but Ashe wouldn't be Queen if she couldn't stop him. Her massive ice arrow appeared from her bow and had flown right in his face, freezing and stunning him.

She'd walked up to him and put her hand under his chin, lightly stroking his perfectly trimmed beard.

"If I were you, I'd listen to your Queen," she'd whispered. "I know you're strong, but Avarosa picked me to rule the Freljord. Do you wish to join me, or die a freezing cold death?"

As the ice on his body had started to melt, Tryndamere had narrowed his eyes and grunted. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

"If you want to have this," she'd lifted her eyebrows. "Our tribes will live in peace."

In a split second she'd wondered what the hell she was doing, but the confidence that had been flowing through her guts had made her sure about it. And she'd had to admit; even though he was scary and was just a killing machine, he was quite… attractive.

Tryndamere had run his eyes over her body before thinking for a while. Then he'd turned around and faced his army. "Queen Ashe has just offered us a deal! I take her hand in marriage, and everyone can live in peace! What do my people think of that?!"

The crowd had started yelling and clapping their hands, and Ashe smiled, because she knew that her plan had succeeded.

And here she was, curled up in the couch, waiting for her husband to get out of the shower. They had agreed that this marriage was strictly political, but sometimes she was craving more. She knew he wasn't attracted to her in that way, and they shouldn't make this whole situation harder than it needed to be.

She heard the bathroom door open and she couldn't help it, but she looked over her shoulder to see her husband.

He looked at her as if he needed an explanation for why she was looking at him, so she took a deep breath. "Dinner will be ready soon. One of the maids fainted so some of the food got burned."

"You went into the kitchen?"

"Yes I did, you know I do that! Why do you always seem so surprised by the things I do, like opening the windows or walking into the kitchen?"

"You're the Queen. You don't have to check up on the maids."

"I want to! I want to make sure they are taken care of!" she said, raising her voice. "I am the Queen of the Freljord, but I am also still a young woman, a human being who cares about her people! Isn't that what being a leader is all about? You just wouldn't care, but I do!"

She jumped up from the couch, walked past Tryndamere while looking at his bare chest for a second. Damn, he was muscular – she wanted to put her hands on that body but she couldn't. In her mind she knew that what she'd said wasn't completely true; Tryndamere cared as much about their people as she did.

Frustrated she ran towards the kitchen again. When she opened the door, the girls turned around. "We're almost done, Queen Ashe! We just need to season the potatoes and then dinner is ready to serve!"

"It's okay, I'll do it." Ashe walked to the wooden cabinet and got out some fresh herbs, got out a knife, cut them up fast and sprinkled them over the potatoes. "Chives are specifically great for potatoes. At least I like them a lot! I'll set the table so you girls can focus on the dinner."

She got out some plates and cutlery and walked to the dining room, setting everything up. From the bottom shelf of the cupboard she got a bottle of red wine. Morgana had told her today that this one was particularly great with steak, which was what they were having today.

She wished that one day that Bristle pig would be cut up on their plates. Stupid Sejuani would be so powerless without that beast. Then maybe she would admit defeat…

But for now, at least the tribes that mattered were united because of her marriage. That was a good thing. She put wine glasses on the table and knew that Tryndamere would appreciate some water with it too, so she ran back to the kitchen to get a can of water.

"Dinner is ready, Queen Ashe!"

"Perfect. I'll go get Tryndamere."

She ran towards the bedroom – she ran a lot, not very Queenlike, but probably a habit she'd picked up from the Fields of Justice. Hopefully Tryndamere would be done with getting dressed. To be sure, she knocked on the door instead of walking in like she normally did. Somehow, she'd never caught him naked. Which was probably a good thing. She wondered why she was thinking about all these things today… Oh well, it wasn't anything knew,if she was honest.

"Yes?"

"Dinner is ready."

"Aight. I'll be right out."

x x x

When they sat down at the table, Tryndamere looked her in the eye and winked. "Wine?"

"I also got you water in case you didn't want any," she said hastily, but to her frustration she blushed.

"You set the table, didn't you? Why? The maids don't do it like this."

She shrugged. "I didn't have anything better to do. And I am your wife after all, so I might as well show that I care."

"You do know that you're the Queen as well, right? You don't have to do chores like this. Wait a second, were the maids too lazy to do it themselves?" She saw rage coming up in his eyes and she chuckled. "Calm down. I told them I'd do it. Man, you have a lot of built up anger inside you!"

"I've always had that and you know it."

She nodded. "Let's eat before this food gets cold."

After a while, she put her plate away contently. "That was good. Do you like the wine?"

"I do, actually. Still, I prefer Gragas' scotch to this wine."

"Of course – you're a real man. Real men don't drink wine." She'd had one glass and was craving another one, but she knew she shouldn't have any more or she'd get tipsy. And that wasn't a good idea.

He laughed and lifted his eyebrows. "Sometimes you seem way too humble to be a Queen, you know that?"

"You want another one of my ice arrows in your face to show you who's boss?" she threatened while standing up.

"If it means I get another marriage proposal," he grunted.

"Why?"

He mumbled something and she tilted her head, wondering what he was talking about. He always did that, implying something but never explaining.

Ashe couldn't remember them ever having a conversation like this though. Usually they talked about their tribes and ways to improve their kingdom.

"I'll go get dessert and then we can talk about the taxes we need to change." She didn't want him to think that she wasn't being a proper Queen.

"Alright."

When she came back with the chocolate pudding, he had taken off his robe and he was sitting shirtless with just a pair of pants. She swallowed heavily and reached past him to put the plate in front of him, careful not to touch him.

"Want me to open the windows?" she joked.

"No, I'm fine like this. And I can open them myself if I want to," he responded.

"But you're the King, you shouldn't have to do chores like that," Ashe mocked him and she saw a slight smile on his face. It made him look so much more approachable for some reason.

"It's quite different, not having the maids around," he noted. "It's nice. And the potatoes were really good too for some reason," he said with his mouth full.

She took a bite of the chocolate pudding and let out a small moan. "That's good," she sighed.

"You love chocolate, don't you?"

"Uh yeah!" she laughed. "Oh and I put some chives on the potatoes. Maybe that's why you liked them."

He stopped eating for a second and looked at her. "You know how to cook?"

"Yes I do, is that so weird? I had a life before I became Queen!"

Suddenly another shiver went down her spine. 'What's going on? I am never cold… I haven't felt the cold since I got Avarosa's bow…'

"So how was your day?" she asked nervously. She'd never asked that before – and he seemed to notice, but still decided to answer.

"It was good. Killed a couple of criminals that escaped from jail – they thought they could outrun me," he grunted.

"Let me guess, it made you mad?"

"Of course it did." A grumble left his throat. "But I got 'em. Now they won't harm anyone anymore."

"Good job, King Tryndamere."

"Thanks, my Queen."

"Should we talk about those taxes now? We still haven't done that. And next week we'll have to present the new idea to the people."

"Sure. I have written down some points of action. I'll go get them."

Ashe smiled as he walked away. His muscular body made her crave to touch it, but she took a deep breath and withheld herself from doing anything she might regret later. She was the Queen, for god's sake. Her emotions should stay out of this marriage.

At least he'd learned how to write after they got married. His life had been all about fighting before he had met her. He wasn't dumb at all, he was actually quite intelligent, but he'd just never put in any effort in those things. Now he'd learned al the skills that are required of the King.

"Here."

His voice caught her off guard and she let out a little yelp.

"Daydreaming again?" he smirked. "Guess that's not a surprise either."

She grabbed the papers out of his hand and looked at what he'd written down. It was a perfect idea – she didn't have anything to add to it.

"Well," she started, "I guess we don't even have to talk about it. Let's do this. It looks like the perfect thing to do for the people."

"Nothing to add to it? You usually have some kind of comment," he grinned.

"Nope, not this time." She read it over one more time and shook her head. "I really can't find anything wrong with the idea, it's exactly what we need." She then stood up and shoved her chair back. "The maids will clean up. I am going to practice my archery in the gardens." Without saying anything else, she walked away – she felt his eyes stinging in her back.

x x x

When the target dummies were filled with arrows, she sat down on one of the hay stacks and let out a sigh. She had put her thick clothes on, because she was kind of thrown off by the flashes of cold she'd felt earlier. Now she felt hot again, but she couldn't take anything off because it was only one layer.

It was a fifteen-minute walk to the castle, so she didn't feel like going back yet. When all these arrows were melted, she could start again with filling the dummies up. Somehow she felt angry and frustrated.

As she lifted her bow and landed another arrow in the eyes of the dummy, she realized that she knew exactly why she was frustrated. She had been for a long time now. All because of her husband.

She wanted for Tryndamere to see her as more than just a way to keep their tribes happy… But how could that even happen? They slept in the same bed, they saw each other almost every day, but still he'd never touched her more than just a kiss on the cheek. When she'd forced him to unite the tribes by marrying her, she'd had this weird kind of confidence in herself that by now was shrinking. Yes, she was still strong, looking at all the arrows flying through the air – her skills were actually even stronger than ever, but her confidence in herself wasn't the way it used to be. Even though she was the Queen and everyone worshipped her, she just wanted her husband to worship her – that's all she wanted.

Cold air filled her lungs and she looked up at the mountains. They were frozen, like always, but here on the floor things were not as frozen as up there. It was beautiful – Ashe'd always loved wandering through this part of the Freljord. She wanted her archery practice place to be built here, where no one ever came. Just so she could have some time to herself…

With a scream she released one of her big frozen arrows into the sky, and two seconds later a duck fell down.

"Gotcha," she laughed. "We can use you for dinner!" She was happy that her big arrows just killed ducks instantly without them being in pain. Plus because the duck was frozen solid, it'd be easier to preserve. Perfect.

"Did you just shoot that from the sky?"

A deep man voice made her jump up in the air, dropping the duck. She let out a shriek.

"What the hell?" she yelled, looking at Tryndamere. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I need a reason to be here?"

"Yes you do! This is my special place!"

"But I am your King," he grinned.

He'd never called himself hers… He often called her his Queen, but never the other way around.

"Are you mine?" she dared to ask. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."

"We're married, aren't we?" he grunted.

"For political reasons," she said in a monotone voice that she used to explain the reason for their marriage to everybody. He recognized it and laughed. Then he walked up to her and grabbed her upper arms and almost lifted her up. She tensed up a little.

"Do you want it to be for more than just political reasons?"

Her eyes got wide and she regretted everything she'd said immediately. And she knew that he was going to hate her, or make fun of her, or be mad… but she didn't want to lie. She hated lying.

"Is that so weird?" she then sighed. "I know I've always made you think it was for political reasons, which is true, but I just…"

"You just…?"

"Sometimes I just crave… never mind. Let's walk back. I am done for today."

He still held her arms and wasn't planning on letting her go. "We're done when I say we're done. Now what exactly do you crave?"

His bright sea blue eyes looked into hers. A strange warmth settled in her lower stomach. She looked down, embarrassed.

"You…"

He seemed to be confused for a second, then he let go of her arms. At that moment she knew she'd made a mistake by telling him. He'd never look at her the same way again…

"So let me get this straight," he mumbled, "you want me as more than just someone to keep the tribes together and to discuss politics with? And what exactly do you mean by that?"

She didn't want to answer him. But she knew that he could read the answer in her eyes when she looked up at him.

"Don't get mad at me please," she whispered. "I know that wasn't what you wanted when you agreed to marry me. You just wanted the tribes to be living in peace… Please don't rage at me…"

She saw a fire in his eyes that wasn't rage, but it was strong nonetheless. He then walked away, leaving her alone in the cold. And for the first time in a long time, her body was craving warmth. The warmth of his skin.

But she'd ruined that for good now.

'Nice going, "Queen",' she thought to herself.

x x x

When she arrived at the castle, she was cold to the bone – and completely freaked out about it. She felt embarrassed and she walked into the shower, not trying to find out where Tryndamere was. In her head she imagined him being with her in there, touching her skin and covering her in his warmth.

"No!" she yelled. "I am the Queen! I don't show weakness!" She let the hot water flow over her and she knew that if she was going to stay much longer, that the thoughts of Tryndamere would take her over. She washed herself quickly and made sure she wasn't cold anymore, then she turned off the shower and put her nightgown on. She still didn't feel good, even though usually she'd have enough confidence to boost her up. She still remembered the way she'd touched his chin when her arrow had frozen him for a while. That confidence… she wanted it back.

When she got into the bed, she let out a deep breath. The blankets were usually making her too hot, but now she buried herself under them and closed her eyes – she fell asleep right away.

x x x

When she woke up the next morning, she decided to put on her thick robes – just because she was starting to get aware that the cold was getting to her again. Her body hadn't been cold since that moment on Avarosa's burial cairn, so why was she getting cold now? It was like Avarosa was trying to tell her something, like she needed something else to keep her warm.

'Wait,' She then thought. "this is the first time I feel like I need warmth. I've never needed that before…' She'd always believed she'd adapted to the cold. Which she had.

She stepped out of bed and saw that Tryndamere wasn't there. She didn't even know if he'd been there at all tonight, because she'd been asleep before he'd gotten into bed.

"Your majesty?" she heard a knock on the door. "Can I speak to you for one second? I am so sorry!"

Ashe opened the door and yawned. In front of her was the maid that had fainted yesterday – Ashe knew all the names of the maids.

"I wanted to thank you for your kindness yesterday. I heard that you told the other girls I could take some rest and that you gave us the blankets. Thank you very much. I want to express my gratitude by making you a special pie. It's my mother's recipe. But first I wanted to ask if you like apple pie."

Ashe smiled. "That sounds delicious! Thank you very much, Karena."

The maid grinned and jumped up happily. "Great! Do you want it for dessert with some ice cream tonight?"

"You are awesome," Ashe laughed. "I can't wait!"

She closed the door behind her and put her thick clothes on. When she looked into the mirror, she realized that with this outfit she usually wore her crown. She opened the glass cabinet and lifted it from the red pillow, putting it on her head. Then she felt a strange sense of power wash over her. She was the Queen! And no one was going to make her feel like she needed anyone... Avarosa had blessed her, because she was the leader that the Freljord needed right now. She gave herself a nod and took off her crown. She wanted to practice some more archery today, so wearing it would only stand in the way of her movement. Even though these robes and the dress were holding her back already – but she'd have to be skilled even with heavy clothes. Today she'd focus on that.

x x x

'Hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, miss, hit, hit, hit…' She was getting the hang of using her arrows even with these thick robes. In the meantime, she forced herself to think about how she'd felt when she'd just gotten the powerful ice bow. It was like she'd realized that no one would be stronger than her, that she was the one worthy enough to receive this blessing… Ever since she'd been a little girl, she'd loved the tales of the Freljord, her ancestors and their victories. Little did she know that one day, she'd be their successor.

And here she was now, years later… She was the Queen. Everyone loved her and Tryndamere, they were the perfect royal couple – in their eyes. And she'd always felt like she didn't actually need a man, she was powerful enough to rule the Freljord by herself if she had to. But when she'd seen the barbarian, she'd just had this strange feeling…

"Dammit!" she yelled. Yesterday she'd been thinking about the same thing – she was hoping that today would be better. 'Oh well, who am I kidding,' she then shrugged. 'I've been thinking about it for years now. Today is nothing different. Except for the fact that now he knows I'm thinking about it…'

Tomorrow she'd have to go to the Howling Abyss, so she wouldn't have to travel for a long time like she usually did to Summoner's Rift. But she knew that she might see Lissandra, and if that was true, she was going to rage harder than Tryndamere ever could. That ice witch had fooled her for so long…

With a loud frustrated scream she fired another arrow – it went with so much force that the target dummy spit in half. A tear streamed down her face, she wiped it away fast even though nobody was around to see it. Queens don't cry.

One day she would kill the ice witch, so the Freljord could be all hers. Sejuani's tribe had to work with her too, and she didn't see that happening either. She was the Queen of the Freljord, but it still felt like she only was ruling a third of her kingdom.

She heard a familiar scream from down the valley and she smiled. Tryndamere was close by – she wondered if he was here by coincidence or if he'd come to look for her again… Probably the first. She wondered if he was looking for the monster, his enemy, even though that figure had probably left the Freljord years ago... But his rage still kept Tryndamere going.

"Poor guy," she heard his familiar voice from behind her after a few minutes. How is he able to come up here so fast? It was at least a twenty minute walk down the mountain, let alone up… She knew that his rage did things to his body that she'd never seen before – so that had to be it. Why was he mad though, if that was the case?

He pointed at the split target dummy and she smiled. "Yeah, and since the other ones are full of arrows, I guess you're my next target."

He grunted something as he took a bite out of an apple that he'd gotten from his leather bag.

"No really," she said jokingly. "Put that apple on your head."

With one eyebrow raised he put the half-eaten apple on his helmet and crossed his arms.

With speed and precision, Ashe shot the apple from his head in one second. He didn't even flinch – apparently he knew that she wouldn't shoot him in the face.

"I am getting pretty good at this after all this time," she smiled. "Even in these heavy clothes."

"Why did you wear those?"

"What are you doing here?" she tossed the question back. "I thought I asked you that yesterday, and you still came back."

"I told you that I am your King, so I have the right to come and go whenever I please."

"So… how did you get up here so fast? I heard you down the valley a couple of minutes ago. Rage?"

He nodded.

"Have you come to get mad at me for what I said yesterday?" she then said. "Cause I take that back. Everything is perfectly fine the way it is."

"Yeah right."

He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. Ashe wanted to say something, wanted to tell him something political, something that would make him leave. But she couldn't.

"You're one hell of a bad liar, my Queen."

"Shut up," she said. "Just don't get mad at me, okay?"

His face came closer and she felt intimidated even though her body started to get hotter – but she ignored both of those feelings.

"Why the hell do you think I have all that rage in me?"

"I don't know…?" she asked, frustrated. She felt his breath on her face. He smelled like dirt and sweat – and she loved it.

"Before I met you, I was so upset all the time because I saw my people suffer but I wasn't able to do anything about it… I wanted to kill the monster who destroyed them. I still do." His voice was low, almost like a grumble.

Ashe nodded. She looked into his eyes. "But now you're the King. Why do you still have so much anger inside you as before, now that your people are happy again?"

"I need an outlet for my frustrations… my Queen. Yesterday you told me I haven't trained my patience much since we got married. I'd like to think the opposite. I am still a fighter, a barbarian - as you like to call it, but I think I've done a damn good job on being patient."

Ashe's heart was beating loud, her whole body was aware of how close he was to her. Her breath got stuck in her throat when she said: "Patient what... with what…?" She stumbled over her own words, because deep inside she knew what he was talking about – but she was afraid to believe it.

"With you, my Queen."

His hand went up to her hair, and grabbed the long white strands. Carefully he combed his fingers through it, but because Ashe had been doing exercises, her hair wasn't as smooth as it usually was. She blushed.

He brushed her hair out of her face, exposing her neck. His rough hands on her soft skin made her shiver. Before she could react, his mouth was tracing the crook of her neck, slowly going up to under her ear.

Her knees were trembling; the heat that was flowing through her was completely new to her. She let out a soft breath, and put her arm around his neck to keep herself from falling. She could feel him smiling against her neck, which only made her even weaker in her knees.

"Tryndamere…" she said breathlessly.

He pulled back; her arms fell down. He looked into her eyes and she wanted him to kiss her, to take her… she wanted to give her love to him…

But all he did was take a step back and then gave her a nod. "I'll see you at dinner, my Queen."

He then disappeared, leaving her alone in the cold. Now that she had an idea of what he could make her feel, she felt colder than ever being away from his touch. She put her big cape around her and fell down on the cold ground. He'd wanted her too… 'Not like I haven't wanted this – but I guess he wants to give me a taste of what patience feels like…'

x x x

That night she walked up to the dinner table and saw the duck that she'd shot yesterday lying on a plate, cooked perfectly.

Tryndamere appeared in the room and sat down on his chair. "Is this the duck you took down yesterday?"

She nodded because her voice didn't really work with her.

"Good. I like duck." When she looked up, he winked at her and immediately she blushed. She hated how easily he was able to have that effect on her… She smashed her hands on the table and balled her hands to fists to regain her sense of power.

"Tomorrow I have to go the Howling Abyss," she said emotionlessly.

"To surprise some summoners?" he asked. "That will be fun. I always like the random battles. The more people line up, the more I can slash through. I might have to go too."

She shuddered. "I bet Lissandra will try to take me down – even if she doesn't participate, she's still always around. And she still thinks I don't know what she's up to… and who she really is now."

"We should surprise her, catch her off guard when she thinks everything is safe. We're one step ahead by knowing her identity."

"True…"Ashe took a bite of the meat and she smiled. "This duck is good. You never know if you shoot an old chewy one or a nice young one."

He laughed loudly and she grinned because she was able to make him laugh.

"Have you been helping in the kitchen again today?"

"No, not today…"

"Other things on your mind?"

At first she thought he didn't mean it the way it made her feel, but then when she looked into his eyes again, she saw the fire she'd seen before.

"Maybe…" she whispered.

"Maybe? A maybe is always a yes to me."

"Just finish your duck," she said. "I don't have time for this."

"Because it makes you feel powerless, doesn't it? You hate the feeling of needing something… someone… because you should be fine on your own – as the Queen."

He'd hit the sore spot. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, she wanted to show him that she didn't need anybody, which would only prove the point he was making, so she sighed. "How do you know?"

"I've been watching you for a long time now, my Queen. Do I need to remind you that we've been married for four years now?"

"I know that very well."

They both then finished their food in silence.

x x x

After dinner, Ashe ran into the kitchen. "Karena, that pie was amazing. Thank you so much!"

The girl turned around and was smiling bright. "I am so happy you liked it, Queen Ashe! I'll make it more often!"

"That would be great. Have a nice evening, girls!" Ashe then said and ran to the bathroom, but when she wanted to open the door, it was locked. Apparently Tryndamere was already in there. The things that went through her mind made her walk away with a bright red face.

She decided to light up the fireplace and wait until he was done. This was their private part of the castle, maids only came here in the beginnings of the afternoons to clean, but the rest of the day this place was just for the Queen and King. Being rulers of the Freljord had its advantages…

She laid down on the big sofa and closed her eyes for a second. In her mind she still felt his lips on her skin. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she rubbed them to make them go away. She was still wearing her thick dress, and the fireplace was burning – why the hell was she so cold? Maybe her time of not being bothered by the cold was gone… She needed heat.

She let out a frustrated groan and wrapped her arms around herself. Stupid Tryndamere…

x x x

When she woke up a couple of hours later, she looked at the big clock in the bedroom. 'Wait… how did I get here?' She was still wearing her dress, but she was on her bed, covered in blankets. And something else… She felt a warmth that she usually didn't have when she was sleeping. The hairs against her skin, the pressure against her back from trained muscles, everything made her suddenly aware that her husband was holding her.

That made her gasp loudly – loud enough to made Tryndamere chuckle. "You're awake, I understand?"

"How… why…"

"You fell asleep on the couch but you were shivering from the cold. So I took you to bed and laid with you to keep you warm."

"Thank you…" she whispered. "I don't know why I am so cold lately… Ever since I got Avarosa's bow, I haven't been cold… but I am feeling the cold more everyday. I don't know what's wrong with me. Do you think that her blessing is fading away?" A tear ran down her nose and to her other eye, making that one tear up too. The tears went into her pillow and she was happy that he wasn't able to see her crying.

"I don't think her blessing is fading away. I think she's trying to tell you something. Something you're afraid to admit."

"Which is?" She brought her hand up to her face to wipe away the tears.

"You need to accept that you need warmth in your life. You can only keep yourself cold for so long."

"I thought you didn't think about those things…"

She turned around and faced him. The nightlight was glowing softly.

He let go of her and pushed her to her side of the bed, and for a second she was afraid she'd said something wrong. His chest was exposed; she couldn't help but notice every movement he made. His long dark hair fell down next to her face. She wanted to pull him in, to absorb all of him, but she knew that he wouldn't let her.

Then his face got close to hers and his eyes were not letting go of her mouth as he stopped an inch away from her face. "Are you ready, my Queen?"

She couldn't talk; her heart was in her throat, her breathing heavy. She gave a soft nod. In a split second she saw him close his eyes as his lips crashed into hers. Immediately a moan escaped her lips and she closed her eyes in anticipation, her whole body fired up under his kiss.

His lips were rough and the kiss was so strong that she was afraid she'd melt in his arms. Another moan came out of her mouth as he deepened the kiss. Little bolts of electricity ran through her body, arching her back and kissing him back slowly and with passion. He grabbed her hair and tugged on it slightly, making her realize that she hadn't taken a shower yet that day. But when his lips went down to her neck and nipped on her skin, she took a sharp breath and forgot about her dirty hair. "Oh god…" she whispered, her hands sliding over his back, feeling every muscle.

When he pulled back and looked into her eyes, she knew that they had to be pleading, burning with desire.

Tryndamere didn't say anything, but instead his fingers grabbed the top layer of her dress and started to untie the strings that held it together. When it fell apart, the next layer of her dress was showing the curves of her body, but still hiding everything.

"You haven't worn this many layers for a long time now, except for official gatherings," he noted.

"Sorry," she said breathlessly.

"For what?" he grunted. "I like to unwrap my gifts."

A shudder went down her spine and she squirmed when his fingers went under the dress, revealing her pale legs. Her toes curled up when he slowly moved his hands up till her hips, lifting up the long dress. He grabbed her waist with one hand, lifted her up and shoved the dress up underneath her back.

"Please sit up for me, my Queen."

She obeyed and he pulled the thick layers of the dress over her chest and she instinctively lifted her arms, he pulled the dress over her head and she closed her eyes when she smelled her own sweat. Tryndamere threw her dress to the side, pushed her back down and held his breath when he saw her corset and her underwear.

"I…" she nervously looked away. "I haven't taken a shower yet today…"

His bright eyes looked into her blue ones. "Don't worry about that, my Queen."

"But I smell…"

"Didn't I just tell you not to worry?"

He moved his nose down her body and her face flushed a bright red, knowing that it wouldn't be pleasant.

"You smell perfect, my Queen. Just perfect…" He parted her legs slightly and moved his head to kiss the inside of her thighs. His beard scratched her skin and she clenched her hands into fists to prevent her from moaning. On the other hand she was embarrassed, because she still couldn't believe that her smell was perfect to him…

But when she felt his tongue trace up to the edge of her underwear, she couldn't keep it quiet anymore. "A-ahhh… Tryndamere!"

He let out an animalistic growl and she wanted to think that she didn't like it, but she had to admit that his primal ways of discovering her were turning her on even more.

He then rolled her on her stomach, untying her corset and lifting her up, pulling the corset away from under her and throwing it next to her dress on the floor, only leaving her in a pair of panties. When he rolled her on her back again, she covered her chest instinctively.

When he started kissing the pale skin on her stomach, she wanted to put her hands in her hair, but on the other hand she felt vulnerable with her chest exposed. But when he started to suck on her skin, she couldn't help herself and tangled her hands in his long dark hair. He then looked up and his eyes locked on her exposed breasts, then on her face, looking her into her eyes.

"If you had any idea for how long I've been waiting for this, my Queen…"

She wanted to tell him to take her, to make her his, to consume her like a fire, but she couldn't say anything. Her breathing was loud and she did feel exposed, but the way he looked at her made her feel more like a woman than she'd ever felt.

She used her arms to push herself up, locking her lips with his mouth. When his body sank into hers, it was heavy but she felt a hardness pressing against her, revealing that he had been ready for her for a while now. What was stopping him? She wondered if he took his time to make her happy, because it was commonly known that women liked men to take their time to work them up… But she had been ready since the moment he'd kissed her neck earlier that day. And she knew that he knew that – so why was he waiting?

Suddenly it dawned on her. Even though he wanted her, he still wanted her permission to completely take her. Even to kiss her he waited until she'd told him that she wanted more out of this marriage… What would've happened if I'd told him earlier?

"My King…" she whispered when she broke away from the kiss. "You can take me..."

He slowly took down his pants, not letting go of her eyes and she saw his manhood. It made her gasp and before she could think anything else, he tore her panties from her and buried himself deep inside her.

"Aahhh… Tryndamere…" she screamed as her body completely took him in. She felt that there was no stopping him, that he was going to have his way with her now that she'd told him he could.

"You are beautiful," he grunted, his hands wandering over her skin. His hair fell next to and slightly in her face when he kissed her deeply as he moved back and forth inside her. His fingers intertwined with hers and he moved her arms up above her head, not breaking the kiss. She completely lost her sense of time, all she could see were stars behind her eyes.

She arched her body into his, automatically moving with his thrusts. One of his hands let go of hers and slid down to her back, pushing himself even further inside her. That made her completely fall apart in his arms; she screamed his name in his mouth as waves of pleasure washed over her.

"My Queen…" He growled in her ears as he came too. Her nails dug into his skin, her body still coming down from the sensations.

"Tryndamere…"she whispered and looked into his eyes. "Thank you…"

He kissed her collarbones and grinned. "My pleasure…"

'Not only yours,' she thought, satisfied.

x x x

"Welcome to the Howling Abyss," the female voice acclaimed and Ashe took a deep breath. She'd put on her usual attire, her short dress and a light cape. Her ice bow felt different from usual in her hands, like she actually felt how cold it was this time. It didn't hurt her though, and the bow still listened to her every command. When her team walked up to the middle of the bridge, she hid in the first bush, her bow ready to fire arrows. Heimerdinger hopped up to her and put a turret down in the bush. Graves and Twisted Fate were walking up to them as well, eyeing each other furiously. Ashe chuckled.

"Who is the last person on this team?" Twisted Fate said, his voice slick with magic. Graves laughed. "Who cares. Y'all are good champs, and I count for three. So we're good, ain't we."

Ashe wanted it to be Tryndamere, she wanted to feel his presence near her. But only thinking of him already made her skin fire up.

"Well well," she heard the yordle say next to her as he put down another turret. "Usually you radiate cold, as my calculations have proven. But it seems like your physique is radiating heat today. Would you mind if I did some research on that?"

"Yes, I would mind," she responded. "You should focus your experiments on something more useful, like how we can defeat Lissandra."

"Oh, I see." He pushed his goggles up to his nose.

"A summoner has reconnected," they heard from above the bridge as they saw the minions walk by. Ashe looked back and looked for the last champion to join their team, and when she saw it was Anivia, she smiled because she was happy to see her friend, but she was sad at the same time that it wasn't Tryndamere. She decided to walk into the next bush, expecting the other team to be there. When she stepped into the grass, two strong arms grabbed her and she looked up into bright sea blue eyes.

"Good morning…" His lips found hers and she sank into his kiss, but they broke apart before they could do anything more. "My team is coming. Good luck on the match, my Queen."

"You too, my King," she whispered.

"Is anybody in the bush?" she heard Anivia behind her. Nobody'd seen their little... moment.

"It's Tryndamere," she yelled back. "Let's attack his team!"

The minions had started fighting, but nobody was really focusing on that. The battles at the Howling Abyss were usually focused on kills and towers, granting gold to get more items to get to the enemy's Nexus.

And now she had to fight Tryndamere. Seeing his muscular body dragging his sword around almost made her lose her mind, knowing what he'd done to her last night. But then she regained her control, and fired her arrows into the other team. Tryndamere evaded them wisely, but her arrows found their way into the bodies of the others.

Their teams fought for a couple of minutes before she could feel her big arrow slowly forming in her hands. She saw the other champions charging up their ultimate abilities as well, and her husband was having a disadvantage because of his range – but when he received his undying rage, she heard Graves curse from the back line as he'd just wasted his ultimate ability. "That bastard always lives."

She chuckled. "Not for long…" She knew that her husband's fury was fading away much sooner because… well… his frustration wasn't as much as it used to be.

She fired her frozen arrow in a slightly curved line, right into Tryndamere's face. His team was already backing off because of their low health bars, so she walked up slowly to her frozen husband and caressed his bearded chin. "I know you're strong…" she carefully picked her words, repeating the sentences she'd said when she'd hit him with the ice arrow the first time, four years ago. "But Avarosa picked me to rule the Freljord. However… She's made clear that I need someone to keep me warm in my life... Do you, Tryndamere, still wish to join me?"

Everything had happened in a split second, Twisted Fate had teleported into Tryndamere's team behind their tower and completely destroyed them. Again, nobody noticed Ashe and Tryndamere's little conversation, and as the ice on Tryndamere's body melted, he smiled.

"You're all mine, my Queen."

His health bar then disappeared, and his body went back to his base - Ashe heard the voice tell her she'd slain an enemy. He wasn't dead for too long, thanks to the healing powers of the Fields of Justice. She knew that she'd have to go back to base sooner or later too, but she'd wait for Tryndamere to get back to give him the kill.

"Something seems off about you," Anivia whispered in her ear. "But in a good way," she added as she put a wing around Ashe's shoulder.

She smiled at the ice bird. "Everything is great," she sighed. "More than great..."

"I am glad to hear that, Queen Ashe," Anivia winked. "I'd keep my wing around you for longer but I don't want it to melt and fall off."

x x x

"Ready to find more clues about the ice witch, my Queen?" Tryndamere lifted her into the carriage and she let out a yelp.

Yesterday, her team had won, but Tryndamere had gotten the most kills out of everyone in the match. His rage was still strong in battle, but she'd already noticed that outside of the battlefields, his rage was slowly decaying. There was still a lot left because of the revenge he still needed to find in killing the monster that killed most of his people... But he was perfectly able to control it now, for some reason. Well, she knew that reason. Her body fired up again when she thought about earlier today, when they'd made love to each other again.

"Yes, I am ready, my King."

He closed the door next to them and they rode down the Howling Abyss. It would still be a long journey, but Ashe knew that she could do it as long as she had her husband by her side. She tapped on his helmet so he'd face her and when he did, she kissed him eagerly. Immediately his arms tightened around her and pulled her on his lap.

"Ashe," he said when he pulled back to caress her cheek and he looked into her eyes. "I love you, my Queen. I have loved you from the moment you froze me."

His words made her tingle from her head to her toes, hearing her name come from his lips like this, saying that he loved her…

A cold wind went through the carriage as they went further into the ancient caves. It made their hair fly up in their faces and they laughed. "I love you too, Tryndamere. I hope I made that clear when I asked you to keep me warm for the rest of my life…"

His arms wrapped around her and his bright eyes locked with hers, and Ashe knew that the barbarian King would stay by her side for the rest of her life. Together they'd reunite the Freljord and confront the ice witch. They would have to face evil and their strength would be tested. But together, they could do it. When the icy wind departed, she noticed that the cold hadn't bothered her yet today. And she knew that the reason for that was holding her in his arms… She saw that the chest that held her ice bow was faintly glowing, and she smiled.

She'd never be cold again.


End file.
